


The Gift

by Princesszellie



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Cars, Chuck Lives, Chuck's birthday, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Post-Operation Pitfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 18:27:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2160615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princesszellie/pseuds/Princesszellie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Herc finds the perfect gift for Chuck's first birthday after Pitfall. It just might turn out to be a gift to himself as well. </p>
<p>Pure fluffy fluff. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gift

For Chuck’s first birthday after Pitfall Herc decided to get him a car. The kid clearly needed some direction and a project; you could take the boy away from the machines but you couldn’t take the need to tinker away from the boy.

It couldn’t be anything too new. New cars were all computers and very little ‘guts’. Chuck liked a challenge, to get dirty and greasy. No new car would give him that satisfaction. Besides programming wasn’t his strong suit.

But Herc didn’t want it to be _too_ old. A piece of junk with a rusted out frame or bum electrical would become too big of a project and might push Chuck over his obsessive perfectionist edge.

No, somewhere out there was a perfect medium.

After weeks of searching want ads and the internet Herc finally found the perfect candidate. A late 1990’s model. In fantastic shape given its age, but had been in storage during the war and had a nice laundry list of things for Chuck to fix up. The interior was immaculate and the body was solid. The color was iffy and that might just be the first modification his son would go for. He bought it for a steal and had it towed to the house.

On the big day he dragged Charlie and Max out to the barn and pulled the dustcover off with a dramatic flourish. Chuck stared for several heart beats, the gears in his head slowly beginning to spin again after months of gathering dust- just like the old car had been.

“It needs some work,” Herc offered.

Chuck walked a slow circle around the machine, “It needs some damn paint,” he snorted then grinned hugely at his father. “It’s really mine…to do whatever I want?”

Herc smiled back, “All yours. Have at.” Chuck had already found the release and had popped the hood. Perfect. “Happy birthday kiddo.”

Chuck looked up from poking at the oil seepage on the engine block, “Thanks Dad its perfect.” Herc could hear the genuine appreciation in his voice and that was more than enough repayment for all the hassle of finding and hiding the damn thing.

“Your gonna help me right old man?” Chuck asked still smiling wryly up at him.

“Sure, whatever you want.” He answered, super pleased that Chuck would invite him to participate in the madness that was about to ensue.

God he was looking forward to coming out to the garage and hearing that god-awful heavy metal music blaring, finding parts and beer cans scattered everywhere, and seeing Charlie head and shoulders into that engine block covered in grease- alive and one year older. This wasn’t just a gift for his son; it was a gift to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a little warm up on Chuck's birthday. Just for fun. But of course as usual it all comes back to cars with me. :) They can be great healers. Nothing can rebuild your life like rebuilding a car. <3


End file.
